Nucleation and growth of quasicrystalline Pd--U--Si from the glassy state

A Pd--U--Si metallic glass transforms upon annealing to a quasicrystalline phase of the same composition. Electron diffraction patterns of this material verify its icosahedral symmetry. Differential scanning calorimetry and transmission electron microscopy are used to obtain both the nucleation and growth kinetics of this glass-to-quasicrystal, first-order phase tranformation. The homogeneous nucleation rate of the quasicrystalline phase in the metallic glass achieves a maximum at a temperture where its growth is still relatively slow